Children’s Foreign Language Anxiety Scale: …

1 Year:2016 Volume:1 Issue:3 Pages:144-150 144 Children s Foreign Language Anxiety scale : preliminary tests of Reliability and Validity Selami Ayd n Bal kesir University / Turkey English Language Teaching Leyla Harputlu Dokuz Eyl l University / Turkey English Language Teaching Serhat G zel Bal kesir University / Turkey zgehan U tuk Bal kesir University / Turkey eyda Savran elik Hakkari University / Turkey Deniz Gen Bal kesir University / Turkey Recommended citation: Ayd n, S., Harputlu, L., G zel, S., U tuk, ., Savran- elik, . & Gen , D. (2016). Children s Foreign Language Anxiety scale : preliminary tests of reliability and validity. Turkish Online Journal of English Language Teaching (TOJELT), 1(3), 144-150.

2 Received: 28 July 2016 Accepted: 01 September 2016 Corresponding author: 2016 TOJELT. All rights reserved. E-ISSN: 2458-9918 Abstract: Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA), which constitutes a serious problem in the Foreign Language learning process, has been mainly seen as a research issue regarding adult Language learners, while it has been overlooked in children. This is because there is no an appropriate tool to measure FLA among children, whereas there are many studies on the scales that aim to measure Anxiety levels among adult learners. Thus, the current study aims to conduct the preliminary tests of reliability and validity of the Children s Foreign Language Anxiety scale (CFLAS) and to report on the pilot examination of reliability, validity and factor structure of the CFLAS.

3 The findings of the pilot study show that CFLAS is a reliable and valid tool to measure FLA levels among children who learn English as a Foreign Language (EFL) within the age range of 7-12 in a Turkish EFL context. Keywords: Foreign Language Anxiety , children, scale , validity, reliability 1. Introduction FLA, a type of uneasiness and an anxious state of mind generally caused by the unique nature of the Language learning process which includes various challenges for learners (McIntyre & Gardner, 1994), is a considerable variable that has negative influences on the Foreign Language Children s Foreign Language Anxiety scale : preliminary tests of reliability and validity 145 learning process (Ayd n, 2008).

4 FLA manifests itself in the Language classroom in many ways since the Language learning process is a unique situation in that it addresses multiple skills (McIntyre & Gardner, 1994). One of the reasons that causes FLA is that achievement is measured and appreciated based solely on test scores rather than whole performance throughout the learning period. Another reason is that comments of others and the teacher during Language learning affect Language performance (Kitano, 2001). The last reason is that Language learners experience communication apprehension during interaction and communication with native, second or Foreign speakers of the target Language .

5 In conclusion, it is important to measure FLA, a considerable issue in the Language learning process, with valid and reliable tools to have a deep understanding of how to cope with it. Latest research on the validity and reliability of the scales that aim to measure FLA among adult learners draws attention in the field of Foreign Language learning and teaching. In this sense, researchers mainly preferred Horwitz s (1986) Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety scale (FLCAS) to measure Anxiety levels. For instance, several studies focused on the reliability and validity of the FLCAS developed by Horwitz (1986) among adult learners and reached mainly positive results in terms of the validity and reliability of the FLCAS ( Aida, 1994; Paredes, & Muller-Alouf, 2000; Toth, 2008; Yaikhong, & Usaha, 2012).

6 However, while it is possible to trace studies dealing with FLA with the help of FLCAS concerning adult learners, there is a serious lack of study on FLA among children (Ayd n, 2013). As underlined above, over the past years, the number of studies focusing on the role and rate of Anxiety among young learners has been fairly sparse (Ay, 2010; Ayd n, 2012; Chan & Wu, 2004). In addition, one of the main limitations of those studies was that the FLCAS that was designed for adult Language learners was used to measure Anxiety among children. Thus, considering the differences, including psychological, cognitive and social developments of children, it is very difficult to collect reliable data and draw conclusions without a scale that is designed specific to young learners.

7 Furthermore, children who are surveyed might feel more anxious provided that they cannot figure out the meaning of items belonging to a survey that has not been intentionally created for young learners. Moreover, in order to identify the sources and extent of Anxiety , situations creating Anxiety and ways to lower it, it is valuable to prepare and conduct a FLAS among children. In Turkish EFL context, however, the implementation of the FLCAS on children was conducted in a study that focused on the adaptation of FLCAS into a Turkish version and testing its validity and reliability. In this study, Bas (2013) reviewed the adaptations of FLCAS in related literature, and based on the data, a 30-item scale was developed to measure elementary school children s FLA.

8 After the development of scale , it was tested for both reliability and validity. The reliability of the scale was calculated as according to Cronbach s Alpha. Bas (2013) detected three factors in the scale , and total variance percentage was calculated as However, it seems that in the study, all the items were kept unaltered in terms of simplicity and syntactic constructs, which contradict the principles of developing scales for children. That is, to develop an effective scale for children, items must be moderated and simplified as much as possible by taking their cognitive levels into consideration. To conclude, several reasons guided this study.

9 First, FLA is considered as a research area that is mainly related to adult Foreign Language learners, while children are neglected. Second, current literature shows that there is not any research tool that aims to measure FLA among children who learn a Foreign Language . Third, researchers mainly preferred Horwitz (1986) FLCAS to measure the level of Anxiety among children without taking into consideration children s psychological, cognitive and social developments. In conclusion, it can be stated that Ayd n, Harputlu, G zel, U tuk, Savran elik, & Gen (2016) 146 scale adaptation and development regarding Anxiety among children remains an untouched area.

10 Thus, this study aims to carry out a preliminary study on the adoption of an Anxiety scale that can be used to measure Anxiety levels among children. In a narrower perspective, the current study aims to present preliminary results of the administration of an Anxiety scale that was adopted for children in terms of validity and reliability. 2. Method Participants The participants in the study were 174 students enrolled in one primary and one secondary school in Bal kesir, Turkey. The sample group consisted of 23 ( ) second graders, 29 ( ) third graders, 24 ( ) fourth graders, 37 ( ) fifth graders, 32 ( ) sixth graders and 29 ( ) seventh graders. Of the participants, 89 ( ) were girls and 85 ( ) were boys.